DeBoever named 'Woman of the Year'

Judy DeBoever considers doing for others a gift to herself. She recently was named “Geneseo Woman of the Year” by the Geneseo Alliance of Ladies (GALS), formerly the Geneseo Business and Professional Woman's Club.

She recently was named "Geneseo Woman of the Year" by the Geneseo Alliance of Ladies (GALS), formerly the Geneseo Business and Professional Woman's Club.

DeBoever was nominated for the annual award for her years of volunteer efforts with Geneseo's Aisle of Flags of which she is president and for her involvement with the Memorial Day Association of which she and her husband, Bob, are co-presidents.

She said the "greatest gift" she has been given "is being able to help others honor our deceased veterans with the Aisle of Flags in our parks. My greatest honor was to be a guardian on the Honor Flight in September of 2010."

In addition, DeBoever keeps a record of all deceased veterans from the Geneseo area and those names are printed in the program for the Memorial Day Program in Geneseo City Park.

The DeBoever couple was instrumental in establishing a Memorial Garden for Veterans on the grounds of First Lutheran Church, Geneseo, where they are members.

After graduating from Geneseo High School in 1963, DeBoever attended Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wis., and took classes to become a dental assistant. She worked in that position for 24 years. She also helped operate the food counter at Stenzel Auctions, Cambridge, for 10 years.

She has been a member of the Sundowners Home Extension Unit for more than 40 years and is a life member of the VFW Auxiliary in Geneseo. DeBoever has received two awards from the Geneseo Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution for her "excellence to the community."

The DeBoever couple lives on a farm on west edge of Geneseo.

"I am proud of having been a farm wife all these years," DeBoever said, explaining she grew up on a farm.

"When my husband, Bob, was serving in the Marines in Vietnam, I rented the farm where we live now. We later bought the farmstead and six more acres, but we still farm the rest of the farm, for almost 45 years."

The DeBoever couple raises and sells sweet corn and pumpkins.

"We love raising sweet corn and pumpkins and Geneseo has been good to support us by coming to the farm to buy our corn and pumpkins ... what friendships we have made over the years," she said.

The couple also hosted "farm tours" for more than 25 years for students in the Geneseo School District and from surrounding towns.

"It was so much fun for the kids and parents to learn about our life on the farm," DeBoever said. "We also hosted pumpkin patch events and wiener roasts for special needs children in Jill Madden classes for many years," she said.

The DeBoever's have two daughters, Jodi (Steve) Martin of Cambridge; and Jamie (Mike) Paape of Eau